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Where have you been? Around…I promise to get more consistent with posting here. I am a retired person and shouldn’t be as busy I am. Not sure where all my time goes, but it does. Have you been losing time? I do all the time! Where have you been? I have been living life. There is grocery shopping, doctor appointments, house cleaning, repairs & maintenance things to do, TV shows to catch up on, some part-time catering to do, and a little last minute traveling to drag your best neighbor (because I love & miss her) back to Texas from the icy cold of upstate NY! All this stuff gets in the way of my crafting time in one way or another. I swear (over the last 2 1/2 years) I am busier now than when I worked full-time.

What am I going to do about it? I am going to start pairing down all these activities. I am going to put things on a schedule and try my darnedest to follow said schedule. I am exhausted and don’t realize it till I find 5 minutes to stop and realize it. Then I lose more time because I do have to catch up on sleep! So, scheduling is going to be my best friend from now on.

Where have you been? This is my new mantra. The answer from now on is on my calendar in a time slot designated for a specific activity. I am using a digital format right now (and I sometimes double book myself), but I am going to start using that $40 planner I bought (some time ago) so I have a physical view instead of a little chime coming from my phone reminding me of something I completely forgot I booked myself into. All the big-time organizers say to keep one calendar to make your life simple. Too many places make for a lot of double booking and a lot of upkeep & maintenance. However, everything will still go into the digital calendar as well because I don’t want to lug a planner around with me. I want to paper-train myself first to make it a habit and make my brain aware that I must check the calendar before I say yes.

So if you are always asking yourself “Where have you been” and keep losing time, get a paper calendar and write it all out so you can see it plainly. It’s not going to hurt to also put it in your phone calendar as long as you write it all out first. I want more quality time with my family & friends and this is the way to achieve that for me. Happy Calendaring people. Come back to see what I am up to next…I promise it will be interesting and most probably creative!

Our theme for January is Valentines and you are on Francine Wilson @ Stamp Scrap Go Blog page. If you get off track during the hop, there is a link below for the full list.

Valentine’s Day is a wonderful holiday for card giving. You can give cards to the one you love, to your children, your friends, and your family. It is a harried holiday for parents (moms) of elementary aged children…having to get enough cards for all the kids in class and getting your kid to sign them all! Yep, lots of fun. I love making Valentine cards because it shows just how much I care about the person I intend to give the card to. So I say Valentines anyone!

For this blog hop, I chose the Tutti Fruitie suite from our spring Occasions catalog. Some might think it an odd choice, but I love the sweetness of fruit and it just called to me for this card. I also incorporated some stamps from the Sale-A-Bration catalog and the January Paper Pumpkin kit. You can find all the instructions and supply list for “Valentine Anyone!” in the Tips & Tutorials link to the left.

Thanks for taking part in our wonderful blog hop today. To see more awesome Valentine ideas and inspirationClick the next person in line.

It’s been a busy 2018 already! Sale-A-Bration (SAB) has begun, our biggest event of the year, and it coincides with the launch of the Spring Occasions catalog. There is so much beautiful product to see, how do you choose which to make your own? Well, let me share what I chose to start out the year with. Believe me, it was difficult to decide what to get first. My shopping list is long, and the budget is in the works to make it all happen.

I am blown away by the Sweet Soiree suite! I took the time to bundle up! The Cake Soiree stamp set & thinlit bundle is amazing. This may look like all you can do is stamp cakes, but it is so versatile, you won’t believe it till you see it. Let’s move on to the Designer Series paper…OMG! The beautiful silver foil on one side makes for an elegance you can’t imagine. The colorful print on the other side adds to the whimsey. The Ribbon is to-die-for! I ordered 3 spools of it. There is a fun embellishment kit in this suite that has fun stickers, cute tiny tassels and clothespins, washi tape, and velvet ribbon. Want some texture? We have it…Silver embossing paste & Shimmery White embossing paste work beautifully with the decorative masks. Add some more texture with Scattered Sequins Dynamic embossing folder. Top it all off with beautiful packaging for that special someone…a bit of colorful shreddie in the silver gate boxes make an amazing presentation, you can tie on the hand-made gift tag with silver bakers twine. Oh, and don’t forget the coordinating cardstock pack (Berry Burst, Marina Mist, Old Olive). So much awesomeness packed into one product suite! If you were to get this entire suite (you will want it all), you will also earn your choice of 3 first tier SAB items or 1 first tier and 1-second tier plus Hostess Rewards ($15) to use for anything else you want! Notice I didn’t say NEED…I mean, we need some things, but we WANT it all!

There is definitely a learning curve with embossing paste. I would recommend using it on a layer vs the card base. The silver embossing paste is a thinner consistency, so it will take a little longer to dry and I would use some temporary glue on the mask because it has a tendency to bleed under. You can use our multipurpose glue – -when it dries, it is still tacky, which make it repositional. just don’t leave it too long so you don’t damage your design.

Check out all my examples, I have 3 cards, gift package, and a desktop calendar. Click the Tutorial link for dimensions & instructions.

Click the little froggy to see what other wonderful ideas are out there!

Make your list and check it twice! We’re entering the “most wonderful time of the year,” and not just because of the holidays. For us, it’s because Online Extravaganza is starting soon! During this promotion, we will have exclusive deals and sales available for limited times. With different offerings coming throughout this promotion, you’ll want to keep in touch and check back for all the great surprises we have in store.

Our first incredible offering of this promotion will be the 24-hour stamp sale. Select stamp sets will be 20% off for the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza. Stamp Sale starts November 20 12:00 AM and ends November 20 11:59 PM MT. Check out the list and Click HERE to get yours now!

there are a few ongoing items on sale (while supplies last) at even deeper discounts during this extravaganza! check out the complete list!

More extravaganza excitement! Through November 26, shop exclusive sales and deals on select items. Deals end November 26 11:59 PM MT.

To close out Online Extravaganza with a bang, we are offering a special 24-hour flash sale on November 27th, after other Online Extravaganza deals end on the 26th. More information on this flash sale will be posted later in the week. Make sure to check back here for the announcement and more details!

The Stampin’ Blends were made available on November 1st. You gotta get some of these…they are fabulous! I purchased the original Blendabilities a few years ago and I love them then. I was so excited to see that Stampin’ Up! was bringing that back into our product line. These alcohol blending pens have been years in the making…lots of testing to make sure there were no issues with the end product. Stampin’ Up! prides itself on a quality product.

If you like to color and aren’t too sure about shading & lighting, these pens are awesome. You get two shades in a pack and there is a color lifter/blender pen to help with shading. There are lots of youtube instructions out there to show you different techniques. You can mix media and use your watercolor pencils, and you can mix colors without messing up either pen tip.

Using my Stampin’ Blends, I created a few sympathy cards. They turned out pretty wonderful, didn’t they? I used the ‘retired Wisteria Wonder Blendabilities’ because I wanted this color to go with Elegant Eggplant card stock. I am hoping it will be a future release for the Stampin’ Blends. See the list of all the product used below.

You are currently viewing my, Francine Wilson, post. To continue on to find more great ideas & tutorials click on the next name in the list. Thank you for stopping in, come back anytime!

We are coming into the Thankful or Give Thanks season. Why we don’t exemplify this thought throughout the year has puzzled me. Personally, I am thankful all year that I live & breathe and have my family & friends with me. I try to reflect that as I go throughout the year by telling my family & friends how much I appreciate them with my words and my actions. I try to send out cards, although not always on time! For some reason, a special occasion comes along and I don’t have just the right card even though I make tons of cards. Getting creative real fast is pretty easy with Pinterest for inspiration.

You may just be starting the blog hop here at my blog – Francine Wilson or may have come from the person previous to me on the list. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all the projects.

For this post, I am presenting my fall So Thankful for You card. I used my retired smokey slate blendability to add shadow since I don’t have a full set of the stampin’ blends yet. Still working on my blending skills, but I think this turned out well. The color lifter works wonderfully to give a lighter effect and mute the colors.

Thanks for taking part in our blog hop, there are so many amazing ideas and inspiration you don’t want to miss. Remember that currently, you are at my blog – Francine Wilson, so check the blog hop line up list to see who is next in the list.

World card making day is an awesome celebration. Getting together with some of your nearest & dearest to craft the day away. What could be better? Last weekend I spent the afternoon with 80 crafty ladies making cards, watching demonstrations, checking out samples, and swapping ideas & cards. I wanted to share my swap card with you.

This card is super simple to put together. I did it in assembly-line fashion since I made 25 of them. Sit back & enjoy the video, all the supplies and measurements will be listed below. I use Clear Mount stamps, so you would require blocks if you use them too.

Sleigh bells will be ringing in just a few short weeks, which means that NOW is a perfect time to either sign up for Paper Pumpkin’s Season of Style (or renew their subscriptions). Why? During October and November, we’re offering two straight months of pre-cut, perfectly coordinated Christmas cardmaking and gifting projects—with everything you need, delivered straight to your door. And because our kits are pre-cut and ready to assemble, they can get that handmade touch in very little time.

We carefully designed these ready-to-assemble, super-cute projects to give crafters of all skill levels a sense of accomplishment (“Wow, I made that myself!”). So don’t wait! Get a couple kits today so you and your friends and neighbors can craft together!

Important note: Just 36 hours left to get October’s kit. You must subscribe at paperpumpkin.com by 11:50 PM (MT) on October 10.

This card is a mix of two sets and a beautiful Designer Series paper (DSP). Even though it looks complicated, this is a simple card to make. BEWARE – your arm will get a work out from cranking the Big Shot to get the tree branches cut! I was inspired by Sandi MacIver’s tutorial on how to do a bridge card. Our Chandelier & Christmas Staircase

I was inspired by Sandi MacIver’s tutorial on how to do a bridge card. Our Chandelier thinlits and Christmas Staircase thinlits spoke to me for this card. I wanted to show off the pretty silver Christmas tree without blocking it and yet have some sparkly bobbles! I used window sheet pieces and stamped with Versa Mark some of our heat & stick and dazzling diamonds glitter for the sparkly bobbles from Season to Sparkle stamp set. One thing I thought of after I completed this card was to find a way to make a color wheel (like we had way back when!) I will post again when I figure that out.

Adhere DSP to card base from left to right as cut leaving the 2 outside 1”x4 ¼” pieces loose at the top. Apply a strip of Tear Tape at the top of the 2 outside edges of the card base. Do not remove the covering on the tear tape, you will be connecting your bridge piece there.

Window sheet – cut ½” strip off. Rub the embossing buddy over the remaining piece and stamp the swoopy bobbles on the window sheet with Versa Mark ink, quickly cover with Heat & Stick and set with the heat tool. Quickly dust with Dazzling Diamonds glitter (shake off excess) and set with heat tool. Use glue dots to adhere the bobbles in the center of the 1/2″ strip.
On the scrap Whisper White – Stamp your sentiment in Basic Black ink. Use Layering Oval framelit to cut with Big Shot, and adhere with glue dots to the top of the ½” strip (this will be the bridge). Set aside.

Run the Christmas Tree & branches through Big Shot on the Silver Foil paper… you will need 7 large branches and multiple small branches. Adhere the tree to the center back panel with multipurpose glue. Use multipurpose glue to adhere the large branches first to the solid tree and fill in with the small branches.

Now we fold the card base in mountains & valleys. Fold in-ward at 2 ½”, then back at 1 ¼” on the left, in-ward at 5 ½”, then back at 6 ¾” on the right. Burnish the folds carefully, your tree is in the center.

Remove the release paper & line up your bridge piece (below the DSP line) and adhere the left side. Use another piece of tear tape or snail to adhere the DSP in place. Fold the left side of your card down with the right side extended. Remove the release paper & line up your bridge piece (below the DSP line) and adhere the right side. I used another piece of tear tape or snail to adhere the DSP in place.